Shoe-form.



ms NORRIS PETERS 5a., wasilmnrolv, D c.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911;

rear part to the other.

UNITED STATES PATENT orricn WILLIAM S. LOUGEE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO J. SPAULDING &

SONS COMPANY, OF MILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION OF NEW HAMP- SHIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SHOE-FORM.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

Application filed July 20, 1908. Serial No. 444,325.

T 0 all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. LOUGEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at- Itochester, in the county of Strafford and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ShoeForms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a shoe form or tree adapted for use as a filler or former for shoe wearers, as a display form for shoe dealers, as a follower for shoe makers during the finishing process, or for use in any other manner where a preservation of the shape of the shoe is a desideratum.

A desirable feature of shoe forms for the purposes named is that they be so constructed as to be capable of use in shoes of varying sizes without any preliminary manipulation or adjustment of the parts comprising the form. It is desirable that the construction to gain this end be simple, to permit a ready manipulation of the form in placing it in and taking it out of a shoe, and that the form be light in weight. Furthermore, as shoe forms are not generally handled with any great care when not in use it is also desirable that their construction be such as to protect the weaker parts from injury.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a shoe form or tree adapted to accommodate itself to shoes of varying sizes the construction of which shall be simple and light.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoe form able to sustain a large amount of rough handling without injury.

These objects of the invent-ion may be attained by providing a forepart and a rear part for the shoe form which are yieldingly connected together, thus permitting the two parts to accommodate themselves to any length of shoe within reasonable limits. This yielding connection is preferably in the form of a substantially U-shaped metallic spring arranged with its armsextending longitudinally of the shoe form and with the forepart connected to one arm and the For purposes of lightness the forepartmay be made hollow and when so made the spring may conveniently be placed within the forepart, thus protecting the connections between the parts from injury by contact with other objects and rendering the shoe form easy tohandle. This latter feature of the invention is not, however, limited to the use of a spring of the character above described.

In addition to the objects of the invention above referred to, the invention also consists in certain details of construction hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

The preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the forepart of the shoe form or tree, leaving the rear part in full and showing the. form in position within a shoe, and Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the shoe form or tree removed from the shoe.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing 2 designates the forepart of the shoe form and 4 designates the rear part or brace. The shape of the forepart 2 is substantially that ofthe forepart of a last, and is preferably formed from sheet material, such as papier-mache or other fibrous board, thus obtaining a hollow forepart which is light in weight. In shaping the sheet material the meeting edges are preferably placed at the bottom of the form as shown in Fig. 2.

The rear part of the shoe form may be formed of any suitable rigid material and is preferably of wood. An enlarged end '6 is provided of such curvature as to snugly fit the inside of the counter of the shoe and provide a sufficient bearing surface. The end 6 is also so formed as to maintain the body of the rear part a sufficient distance above the insole of the shoe to permit the fingers to be inserted beneath it when using the rear part as ahandle to withdraw the form from the shoe.

In order to permit the form to accommodate itself to shoes of varying sizes without any preliminary manipulation or adjustment of parts, the forepart and rear part are connected together by a longitudinally yieldable member. This yielding connection is in the form of a substantially U-shaped member 8 of spring steel or other suitable yielding material, which is placed with its arms extending longitudinally of the form and within the hollow forepart, as shown in Fig. 1. The securing means for the arm 10 of the spring 8, which is contiguous to the meeting edges of the base of the forepart, may conveniently be used to secure these meeting edges together. To this end rivets 12 are passed through the arm 10 and the margins of the forepart material on each side of the line formed by the puncture of the meeting edges, thus rigidly holding'the forepart to shape and securing the springs in place while permitting a free longitudinal movement of the parts. The rear part l is rigidly secured to the upper arm 14 of the U-shaped spring 8, which extends to a point substantially centrally of the rear opening of the hollow forepart, by means of a pair of rivets 16. The arm to which the rear part is connected, is prefe ably arranged so as to be located in a position sufficiently far above the base of the forepart to permit the rear part to be readily used as a handle in removing the form from a shoe.

ith such a construction as that described it will be obvious that the leaf spring 8 is a longitudinally yielding member permitting the form to accommodate itself to shoes of varying sizes, as by means of the spring the length of the form from the toe end of the forepart to the enlarged head (3 of the rear part may be varied through a longitudinal pressure on the two parts. The form of the spring is such that the rear part is permitted to be lifted vertically relatively to the forepart in removing a form from a shoe without the necessity of providing a pivotal or other movable connection between the rear part and the forepart. The location of the spring 8 within the hollow forepart prolongs the life of the form as with this construction the connections between the parts are incased and thus protected from injury by the strong and rigid forepart.

Although particular uses have been pointed out for the invention herein described, it should be understood that it is not limited to those particular uses, but is adapted to other modes of use such as will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. A shoe form or tree comprising, a forepart, a rear part adapted to engage the heel within the counter, and an approximately U- shaped spring placed with its arms extending longitudinally of the form and having one arm attached to the forepart and its other arm attached to the rear part.

2. A shoe form or tree comprising, a hollow forepart, a leaf spring secured by one end to one wall of the forepart and curved to present its other end substantially centrally of the rear opening of the forepart, and a rear part adapted to engage the heel within the counter connected to said centrally disposed end of the spring.

3. A shoe form or tree comprising, a hollow forepart, a metallic leaf spring having one end attached to the inside of the baseof the forepart and extending forwardlyfrom such point of attachment and then upwardly and rearwardly, and a rear part adapted to engage the heel within the counter attached to the rearwardly extending end of said spring.

4:. A shoe form or tree comprising, a hollow forepart shaped from sheet material, a longitudinally yieldable member secured to and uniting the meeting edges of said forepart, and a rear part connected to said member.

5. A shoe form or tree comprising, ahollow forepart, shaped from sheet material, a U-shaped spring having one arm secured to and uniting the meeting edges of said forepart, and a rear part connected to the other arm of said spring.

6. A shoe form or tree comprising, a hollow forepart, a rear part, and a metallic leaf spring incased by the forepart having one end positively connected to the forepart and its other end positively connected to the rear part.

7 A shoe form or tree, comprising a forepart, a leaf spring attached by one end to the rear portion of said forepart. said spring extending longitudinally from the forepart, then inwardly, and then again longitudinally, and a rear part attached to the last named longitudinally extending portion.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

. VILLIAM S. LOUGEE.

Witnesses ALBERT H. HAYES, ILLIAM T. GUNNISON. 

